It’s not often these days that I venture out of the city for food and drink. We have some great places and, living in the City Centre, I am completely spoilt. I just have to walk out of my front door and there’s an array of choice on my doorstep. When Ambiente invited a group of us in to try their tapas I was quite excited. I am a huge fan of tapas and think this is something we lack in the City Centre, done well that is. I’ve not tried all the tapas restaurants in the City yet but the ones I have, I’m not bowled over. My holidays in Tenerife dining in Canarian restaurants mean I have been spoilt in this area so I was interested to see what Ambiente could do.
Ambiente is quite difficult to find if you don’t know where to look. It is part of 3-4 shop fronts near the main a road in Worsley surrounded by greenery and beautiful houses. Inside the restaurant is quite dark lit by dim lights dotted around. I quite like this moody style theme and it is a far cry from the area in which the restaurant is set.
We got started with some bread and the chilli bread was an instant hit with the whole table. A light spice that warmed rather than heated the mouth on crusty fresh bread. What’s not to love? The picture is a bit crap because the whole table had grabbed for this before I got chance to take a picture!
Next up are two dishes that I always order when dining in a tapas restaurant. Chorizo is a particular favourite of mine and I love mopping up the red wine infused oils with crusty bread. This one is slightly different as the chorizo isn’t as spicy as the ones I usually have. It has a lovely sweetness that worked well with the tang of the dressing. The patatas bravas were good… fried potatoes topped with a spicy tomato sauce. There was enough sauce to cover the potatoes but I would have liked the potatoes to be a bit crispier. This is a personal preference that has developed through various versions of this dish. The sauce was spot on though, just enough garlic to give it a kick.
The gambas pil pil were cooked really nicely; soft and juicy like they should be. I wanted a bit more heat from the chilli ideally but still a lovely dish. The calamari were my favourite dish and the favourite of many others around the table. A lovely light batter covered the soft and perfectly cooked squid. The aioli the right balance of garlicky and creamy. Just lovely and certainly a dish I will be ordering again.
Our last dish was the albondigas. The meat was soft and juicy with a creamy tomato sauce topped with sliced almonds. I’ve not seen them served like this before and it works really well, another favourite around the table and a dish that I couldn’t leave alone. *just one more, yeah one more*. Oops…
I was really impressed with Ambiente and so pleased to have been introduced to a new Spanish restaurant that I would NEVER have found off my own back. I just hope I can remember where it is…
We were invited to dine as guests of the restaurant. This review is honest and views are my own.
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